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So the story begins. 2003 duratec 2.3 5 spd. When I first got it, it would get around 400 miles to a tank. I couldn’t be happier. I do a tune up and it starts to buck real bad apon acceleration. Take all the plugs out ah I closed a gap. Well then I noticed a piece of the porcelain missing from the spark plug. Well it ended up in the combustion chamber. That little bit of porcelain chewed the cylinder to hell and back. It would go through a quart of oil every 50 miles! And the gas mileage was cut in half at that point. Since the clutch was going and the motor was hurt, I hity local junk yard up. Loan be hold I find a 2006 2.3 with 60k miles on it! I bought the motor and transmission for my truck. Smoken deal. Put a new valve cover gasket, water pump, Alternator Along with a couple other things to freshen it up before I put it in my truck. I used the same fuel rail, injectors, wiring harness, intake from my old motor. What I found is that the IMRC control is working but the little piece of plastic that connects it to the flapers had broken. Keep this mind. I get the motor swapped in and running. (Pretty proud of my self being 19 and mainly do work on refrigeration for supermarkets). Runs good no check engine light or anything. But I’m maybe getting 300 miles to a tank of gas. Could the newer motor have different cams that could be throwing the computer off? As stated the imrc is not functioning but who knows how long that hasn’t worked. Also, I haven’t gotten around to changing the fuel filter (rusted in lines) 116k on that filter. Truck runs great, fires right up, even when it’s freezing out. Any clues? Thanks guys!

My 2009 Duratech 2.3L with 5 speed manual tranny gets horrible mileage unless it is babied to the point of being a traffic hazard. Typically get 15-17 around town or highway. If super easy on the gas, say 1/4 mile time in 60 seconds, and keep it at 55 on the highway it will bump up to 20-22mph.
If I really, really try I can get around 20 in the city. At 50 mph on country roads it will get close to 25mph. It is a gas guzzler. The only thing I don't like about the truck, otherwise I love it.

I do know however you can drive 2 identical cars off the lot and they will get different mileage.

Bought a 2013 civic. On one road trip we got 49MPG on the highway I have a picture of the meter.

Traded it in on a 2014, same motor, automatic (but a CVT in the 14).

Similar trip, we didn't even see 34MPG.

Granted the 13 was a gutless wonder and the 14 was a butt kicker but the difference in mileage was a bigger spread than the acceleration.

You are probably facing the same phenomenon.

____________________00 XLT 4WD XCSB 4.0 G2
00 XLT 2WD RCSB 5.0 swap Gherkin
00 XLT 4WD RCSB 3.GO! Jalapeño
Modern technology has us all connected like the Borg on Star Trek. The Smart phone is a device used to keep us plugged into the coveted collective.

No sir I didn't say live with it, I was just telling a personal experience. I don't know if there is anything wrong or not with yours, check for vacuum leaks, maybe seeping injectors, if you still have the old injectors you could swap them out, maybe throttle position sensor is in a different place...

I had an escort one time, TPS went bad and when I pulled it off it really wasn't bad... the actuator tang had busted off. I welded it back on and filed it enough to fit in.

Ran lean, a little spark knock and lower power BUTTT it got at least 6 MPG better than it did before I welded it. True story. So position of throttle position sensor is evidently a factor in fuel mileage.

So in closing I think I can speak for most of us WE WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU but there are so many variables with a motor swap it is almost impossible for us to nail it without touching, driving, scanning....

____________________00 XLT 4WD XCSB 4.0 G2
00 XLT 2WD RCSB 5.0 swap Gherkin
00 XLT 4WD RCSB 3.GO! Jalapeño
Modern technology has us all connected like the Borg on Star Trek. The Smart phone is a device used to keep us plugged into the coveted collective.

Well had the truck scanned. Driven it a good 600 miles since the motor swap. The first code is because I replaced stat with a regular one. I do plan on soldering a resistor in place to fix it as for the egr code I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Well had the truck scanned. Driven it a good 600 miles since the motor swap. The first code is because I replaced stat with a regular one. I do plan on soldering a resistor in place to fix it as for the egr code I’m not sure what’s up with that.